#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Two starcrossed magicians engage in a deadly game of cunning in the spellbinding New York Times bestseller that captured the world’s imagination.The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It … experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.
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Beautiful descriptions and magical writing. Listening to the book was just as good as reading it.
Lush, dark whimsy. Perfect for an October evening.
The Night Circus is fantastical, enchanting, and truly addictive. I haven’t wanted to be a part of a fictional world this badly since reading Harry Potter! The characters are complex and perfectly written from their flaws to their goals and everything in between. Perfectly descriptive imagery paired with a wonderfully lovable cast creates a completely immersive type of world-build. I would definitely recommend this book to reader looking for a brief respite from their everyday lives.
Celia and Marco are two young magicians in a competition that only 1 can survive. Le Cirque des Reves is the circus where they perform and eventually fall in love. Their love, though, has no effect on the competition. The fate of the circus and everyone involved is a risk.
This is one of the most vividly beautiful books I have read in a long time. Le Cirque des Reves is described as mostly black and white with very little color. The red worn by the circus regulars are probably the most color one will see. The descriptions of the activities in the tents are enchanting. I wish there was a circus like this around here.
Celia and Marco are great characters. I actually don’t think there is a bad character throughout the book. Even the devious teachers of Celia and Marco are interesting. The way the author describes the magic “tricks” in the book lets the reader almost see what is happening. My favorite part is the amazing clock that welcomes visitors to the circus.
The reader needs to make sure they read the chapter titles because they bounce around to different years and locations. It all comes together nicely at the end though. There are a few sad parts, but the surprises out number them.
This review does not do this book justice. It’s really hard to express the beauty and brilliance of the story. I highly recommend it.
The story of Le Cirque des Rêves is magical and fantastic, drawing the reader into a world of illusion, mystery, and wonder. It is a story full of contrasts: light and dark, reality and illusion, cold and heat, truth and deceit, life and death. Richly imaginative and sensory, the story is absolutely captivating. Yet at its very heart is a secret so cold and dark that it doesn’t even seem to be compatible with such a wonderful tale.
While the lines and boundaries are blurred, and morality is highly subjective, the reader is drawn strongly to certain characters: Celia and Marco, Poppet, Widget and Bailey, and becomes deeply invested in their stories.
I loved the story concept, the settings and the characters. I very much enjoyed the clever Shakespearean references, some of which were very obvious while others were much more subtle and covert, possibly going undetected by readers less familiar with the works of the Bard.
However, I was frustrated by two aspects of the book. Not only was the plot development very slow… and I do mean s l o w, I found the author’s regular forays into writing overtly in second person incredibly annoying and distracting. Was it set at a series of specific points in history, as the dates at the beginning of chapters suggest, or was it happening right now? Either way, I’m perfectly certain I wasn’t actually there. That simply didn’t make sense, and when I encountered this on the very first page, I almost put the book down for god, thinking the whole narrative might be like that.
Never one to quit a book early, I kept going. The story was good enough for me to almost manage to forget while reading that the writing is in present tense, but the second person perspective interrupted the flow of the narrative and broke my concentration every single time. I understand that the intent was to immerse the reader into the story, but it actually had the opposite effect on me, and it happened far too often for me to easily forgive.
As a result, the book left me with mixed feelings and wondering if I was being petty because I didn’t like it as much as I wanted to. I know it’s very much a matter of personal taste, and I’m glad I persisted with it, but I can’t deny that I am disappointed. As a lover of fantasy, magical stories, and dark fiction, this should have been everything I wanted in a book, but it wasn’t.
As the old saying goes, it’s a fine line between love and hate. I find myself standing on that very line, still unsure of which way to fall.
Book Review, by Pauline Reid
The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern
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What This Book Is About
A circus that just appears out of nowhere, only word of mouth is the only way to find it.
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A black sign painted in white letters that hangs upon the gates says – Opens at Nighfall Closes at Dawn.
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The show is about to start, fire flies spell words – Le Cirque de Reves (The circus of dreams).
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So we start in February, New York, 1873. Prospero had a parcel delivered to him, in the shape of a girl. His own daughter called, Celia.
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A few months rolled by and Prosperos last show in London brings a man with grey hair and a cane that’s invited back stage. Prospero has a proposition to make, in a shape of a game to be played.
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The other piece to the game is a boy called, Marco who grew up in a townhouse in London. He sees no one, even his meals are delivered to the door. The man in the grey suit visits him every day, a very minimal time spent teaching him.
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When Marco turns 19, without him knowing, he has been removed from the town house and into a modest flat with the view of the British Museum. One day he almost lost his notebook with spells, a girl, named Isobel found it and was intrigued by the magical notes inside. They became friends and Marco uses Isobel to practice his magic on.
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Concord, Massachusetts, September 1897 – The McKenzie kiddies … the girl dared her brother to steal something from The Night Circus. What did he get and who did he encounter? ….. the story continues …..
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London, February 1885 – An invitation to a Midnight Dinner and ta da … a new idea was born. Plans drawn out, obstacles built, and a year later ….audience held … and guess you gets employed? …. the story continues ….
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My Thoughts On This Book
I’m going to start by saying, this book is highly imaginative and has you go to here, to there, in no particular order, BUT the beauty and magic within this book and the storyline …. TOTALLY WORKS.
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It didn’t take me long to fall into the pattern of this books magic, and yes, I could imagine for some readers that like a bit of structure to their reading, it would do your head in, but I had no problem with it…… if you want a ride you will get it, chocka block full of entertainment, as magic in a circus becomes an illusion.
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I can’t really give you much in the way of detail other than the above teasers and my version of what this book is about, due to the nature and structure of how the story is told ….. anymore and I would have spoilt it for you.
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So do you dare enter the black and white striped tents?
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Recommendation
This book comes highly recommended by me and would suit any Fiction fantasy reader out there, who likes magic, who likes circus, who likes illusions, who likes stories that keep you guessing
There not enough words to describe my love for this book! Makes me wishes the book was longer!
This book makes my all time favorite list. I read it ages ago when it first came out and then again recently. It didn’t lose an ounce of its magic. Morgenstern paints this world with such flourish and description that it should seem like a fairy-tale and yet, there is a gritty sort of realism to the story that will break your heart and then put it back together. This book has everything, long-held feuds and competition, forbidden love, action and adventure and some twists you won’t even see coming. It is a fantastic read and I couldn’t recommend it more.
Magical, edgy, imaginative, with intriguing layers, mysterious, sometimes dark. Complex.
“The Night Circus” is one of my all-time favorite books. It is filled with romance and magic and beautifully written characters/scenes. Every page keeps you on edge as the characters become connected through the mysterious Le Cirque des Rêves. I am not one to cry much when reading but this book brought me to tears. I recommend it to everyone I meet.
Beautiful writing, artistic feel. The plot is a bit on the slow side and the POV feels very distant, but worth the read.
It is rare I read a book multiple times, but this book is amazing.
A most amazing, utterly captivating, rare treasure. It painted pictures in my mind and filled me with wonder. Did I mention I loved this book? I will read it again and again over the years. The Night Circus was one of the most exquisite reading experiences of my life.
This is one of my all-time favorites. I have read it twice and will probably go back to is many times. There is an incredible world that is built within its pages. It reminds me of the wonder and magic that I sometimes long for. The love story is beautiful – and as a hater of thwarted love, this turns out quite well. I did not have to slam the book down in frustration. I loved all of the characters and I hope that this will be made into a movie. Or a second book! Yes!
Nothing is as it seems in the Night Circus…but it calls to the characters and to the readers to lift the edge of the circus tent, to run away, to visit this special world that only appears at night. Is the circus real? Not telling…
I absolutely loved this book! It’s one I never wanted to end. Such a refreshing plot line and unique characters.
I have been meaning to re-read this book. I loved the two main characters. Very different from any book I have read.
With the right cast and director this would be fantastic!
I enjoyed it
This is a tale of enchanting proportions, told with magical prose & a superbly mythical imagination. When illusionists Celia & Marco are pitted against one another, neither is aware of the other’s existence, the backdrop of the circus serves as their playground. The characters are larger than life, each bringing to the story their own piece of the puzzle, whether it be the dramatic gowns or after-dinner entertainment. I have devoured every chapter with relish, hoping that it would never end. Stunning!